Standard Life Investments
Standard Life Investments has hired Imran Ahmad from JPMorgan Asset Management to boost its emerging market debt capabilities.
Bringing 12 years’ industry experience, Ahmad has been a currency portfolio manager at JPM since 2013 and will take on responsibility for emerging market currency overlay strategies across the entire EMD range.
He will be based in London and report to Richard House, head of emerging markets fixed income
UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Aviva UK chief executive Andy Briggs has been appointed business champion for older workers, a new role created by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Work and pensions secretary Damian Green announced Briggs’ role at the Conservative Party conference earlier this week.
As part of his role, Briggs will be tasked with encouraging other chief executives to recruit older workers and outlining the advantages they can bring to a company.
After joining Aviva back in April 2015, he led the company following the acquisition of Friends Life Group Limited where he previously worked as group chief executive.
In addition, he has worked as the chief executive of Scottish Widows and the chief executive of the life business at Lloyd’s Banking Group among other positions.
Kames Capital
Kames Capital has appointed former Aviva Investors fund manager Richard Peacock to co-manage the Property Income Fund, replacing Alex Walker.
Walker is taking a career break at the end of December, having worked at Kames for eight years.
Peacock will co-manage with existing co-manager and property investment director at the group, David Wise.
Having worked with Wise and Walker previously, Peacock was at Aviva Investors since 2005, latterly responsible for the £1.2bn open-ended property fund for UK pension schemes.
When he joins in December, Peacock will report to Wise and will take responsibility for the team, which includes three assistant fund managers: Gregory Beeson, Karen Fox and Ric Tsang.
Sun Life
David Varley has joined Sun Life Financial as chief of HNW and wealth structuring for Asia, based in Hong Kong.
He will be responsible for building the insurer’s differentiated value proposition for HNW clients, and service their Asia-based offshore protection.
This includes developing the strategy across the region and managing key relationships across firms like private banks, family offices and HNW brokers.
Varley was previously head of HNW for Axa in Asia.
Edge Investments
Edge Investments, the specialist investment house focused on the creative industries sector, has hired two new investment employees -Steve Carle as investment director and Joanna Smith as investment manager.
The duo will be tasked with looking at investment opportunities through Edge’s largest fund, the Edge Creative Enterprise Fund, which launched in November 2015, as well as managing Edge Performance VCT, a specialist venture capital trust focusing on the creative industries and the technologies that enable them.
Carle is an experienced private equity and venture capital specialist, having enjoyed a successful 20-year career with the UK’s two leading mid-market private equity companies – 3i Group and LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group – leaving in 2010 to pursue private business ventures, before joining Edge.
Meanwhile, Jo Smith, has spent her career in finance both in practice at PwC and then in an investment role at the UK’s Channel 4, where she successfully launched a new fund to invest in UK independent television production.
